This special city
EDITOR: I wanted to send a thank you note to the people of Healdsburg. My son and his fiancé spent one-and-a-half years preparing for their dream wedding in Charleston, SC, for Sept. 15. However, Hurricane Florence arrived instead and they were forced to cancel their wedding.
They decided to come to California to visit her sister and wine country seemed like a good place to visit. They arrived that Wednesday with no plans to marry, but by Thursday they determined their parents and wedding party could arrive by Friday. The wedding was on. They had friends from Roanoke get into their apartment to send all the wedding attire overnight.
Andrew and Sophie and the wedding party started to make phone calls to see what could be arranged. They got every service needed: hair, makeup photography, videography, flowers and transportation. Every person we met in Healdsburg was amazing, friendly and helpful. In four days, an amazing wedding ceremony and dinner was organized. A special thank you to Pasterick Vineyard and Chalkboard restaurant.
Someday we will return to this special city.
The Tranmers
Burlington, Vermont
Significant contributions
EDITOR: I first met Leah Gold back in the mid-90s, when she was campaigning for Healdsburg voters to adopt an urban growth boundary for the first time.
Neither I or any of my acquaintances had ever heard of such a concept, but when Leah clearly and rationally laid out the reasons for presenting the concept to the voters, I became convinced that the proposal would, indeed, be a good check to the sort of urban sprawl which had enveloped, for instance, the Santa Clara Valley, where I went to high school.
As the campaign drive for an urban growth boundary progressed, I became more and more impressed with Leah’s hard work and dedication, as she tirelessly worked with individuals and groups to lay out the benefits of adopting an urban growth boundary for Healdsburg.
Leah’s months of work and outreach resulted in Healdsburg being one of the first cities in Sonoma County to adopt a UGB. Today, all of the cities in our county have adopted UGBs, and the people overwhelmingly realize that the urban growth boundaries serve to protect our entire county’s agricultural and open space lands from development.
Agriculture is, of course, the driving force in our county’s economy, and it concurrently provides benefits to small family businesses and to all the rest of us in the county, residents and visitors alike, who can enjoy the beauty of our agricultural lands and our open spaces which are protected by the UGBs.
While serving on the city council, Leah has also been a consistent and effective advocate for parks and open space and her efforts contributed to the addition of Fox Pond at Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve and to trails providing access to and through Badger Park in Healdsburg.
Indeed, Leah Gold has been a fine city council member. She works well with others, stays focused on the issue at hand, does her homework and is hard-working. She is a genuinely good person, and her efforts have contributed significantly to making Healdsburg a better place to live. Leah Gold should be re-elected to the city council.
Bill Smith
Healdsburg
Special needs programs
EDITOR: Through a partnership with the city of Healdsburg Parks & Recreation Department, city school districts and four northern California Rotary clubs (Windsor, Cloverdale, Healdsburg Noon and Healdsburg Morning) a special needs program is being established to aid parents and their children with improving motor, tactile and socials skills through music, art and gymnastics. The first session will be on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Healdsburg Community Center, at 1557 Healdsburg Avenue, starting at 10 a.m. The program will consist of music and percussion, and the event involves student participation as well as listening to various sounds.
The programs will run into next year, on a weekly basis, and all parents with special needs children are invited to attend. A nominal fee is charged for each event, however, scholarships are available. Ages range from 5 to 19 years and special needs youngsters from throughout northern Sonoma County are welcomed.
Contact Angelica Garcia at 707-431-3186 with any questions or concerns. This will be SNAP’s second year of doing these events, and it looks to be a great one.
Robert Redner
Cloverdale Rotary
Key issue
EDITOR: Although Thursday’s city council candidates’ forum was sparsely attended, those of us who were there heard each candidate’s position on a key issue: whether we should wait before approving any new hotels until already-approved hotels are open and we’ve had the chance to evaluate their effect on the quality of life of Healdsburg’s residents.
Leah Gold and Tim Meinken clearly advocated for this pause. I was surprised to hear that if we were to approve all new proposed lodging projects, Healdsburg would have 125 percent more hotel rooms than we had in early 2018.
In contrast, Evelyn Mitchell questioned the council’s decision to limit hotel development downtown and said nothing about limiting new hotels outside of downtown. I would like to hear Ms. Mitchell’s specific views on this issue. In the meantime, I believe Gold and Meinken are the candidates who will most strongly represent the interests of Healdsburg residents in considering new hotel development.
Jan Morgan
Healdsburg
Hateful news
EDITOR: I agree with the letter writer who exposed your paper’s advocacy of hate (9/20). However, some liberals still won’t understand how hateful they’ve been. Starting long before the election, many harshly criticized our future president. When Trump said that in the good old days hecklers at political rallies would be carried out on stretchers, and promised to pay legal costs for such activity, he was hatefully condemned.
Then imagine how hurt his supporters were when critics denounced his “grab them by the p…” statement. The disparagers didn’t consider there could be honorable explanations for claiming despicable acts. Maybe he was just innocently lying to create an impression. His detractors didn’t stop to think how much distress their vilification would cause.
In spite of hundreds of unwarranted attacks, Trump was democratically elected by a minority of the voters. But the abuse didn’t stop. Consider two telling cases.
Trump insisted his inauguration had the most attendees in U.S. history. It would be one thing for the Trump-haters to express doubts. That is allowed in a free country. But imagine how hurtful it is when vicious people claim the president is lying and point to clear photographic evidence to support their allegation — so mean-spirited!
Then, after white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, leading to violence and the murder of a counter protester, our president said there were fine people on both sides, both fascists and anti-fascists. But hateful people insisted these groups were not morally equivalent. I remind readers that during WWII American anti-fascists went on the attack, brutally helping to kill millions of fascists in Europe — we must never again allow such hatred to prevail.
Most important, examine our president’s accomplishments. His huge tax cut for the wealthy is having two great effects: even more wealth for the deserving super-rich, and a federal deficit that will cause dramatic cutbacks on infrastructure, health and education.
And consider Trump’s masterful efforts to deregulate the environment — for example, his loosening of Obama era regulations on the coal industry’s handling of 100 million tons of coal ash annually. Critics rudely pounce on increased mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead going into rivers, and then into animals and humans — but they ignore the more important point that there’ll be less toxic material the industry will be responsible for — an obvious big win for everyone. It is so hateful that so much of the news is so one sided! (Note: the above is parody.)
Robert Nuese
Healdsburg
A vision for the future
EDITOR: You may have recently seen the signs popping up that say “Yes on P – More rental housing!” and wondered “What is Measure P?” I hope this letter helps to explain it. Measure P was put on the ballot by the city council with a 5-0 vote along with widespread community support.
It allows the construction of an average of 50 multi-family (duplexes, apartments, etc.) rental units per year provided that rents are permanently restricted to within 120–160 percent of the area median income. This picks up where affordable housing leaves off, covering families of four making from $101,000 to $134,000 per year.
Measure P does not involve any public funding. The passage of Measure P allows the city council to require these units to be part of new development. The measure was vetted by housing experts and developers, who indicate that units can be built without subsidies — helping fill the gap between affordable and market rate.
Units built under Measure P cannot be second homes — they must enter into a regulatory agreement with the city to manage their rents and screen tenants based on income level. This will help address the housing needs of families, our workforce and older adults wishing to downsize and continue to live in Healdsburg.
The city council recently voted to restrict hotel development in downtown Healdsburg. I believe this decision, along with Measure P, represents a vision for the future of Healdsburg — a vision to move the focus of development away from tourism and back to the residential. I hope you share in this vision and vote yes on Measure P. Please note that this letter is my personal opinion and I do not speak for the city council.
Shaun McCaffery
Healdsburg
Energy and diligence
EDITOR: I’m delighted that Leah Gold is running for reelection to our city council, in part because I know how much she’s done for our city already. Thanks in great part to her work, our city is protected by an urban growth boundary, the Fox Pond parcel was added to the Healdsburg Ridge Open Space that she helped us acquire, and a pathway and bridge now run to Badger Park from Second Street.
Leah’s advocacy helped to create the Foss Creek Pathway and to secure a solar cell project for our wastewater ponds, which is estimated to generate 80 percent of the plant’s electrical power and save ratepayers over $1 million over the project’s lifespan.
Her role in creating the Healdsburg Tourism Improvement District development fund, which redirects 22.5 percent of the HTID funds formerly used for marketing to arts, community events and infrastructure projects, has benefited our jazz festival, our museum, the Raven Performing Arts Theater, and Corazón Healdsburg for the Day of the Dead, among others. These projects — open space, recreational access, green energy, the arts — show the breadth of Leah’s concerns and vision.
I know too that she has the energy, the diligence, and the communication skills to make further contributions. As a city council member and as mayor, she’s been a consensus builder, “quietly pushing the council,” as a Healdsburg Tribune has noted, to stay focused and find compromises. I look forward to seeing what she and our other council members will accomplish for our wonderful city.
I hope you’ll join me in voting for Leah Gold on Nov. 6.
Nancy Roberts
Healdsburg
Consensus builder
EDITOR: With the November elections around the corner, we have the opportunity to fill two school board seats. One of the candidates, Rose McAllister, is not one to promote herself, so I am taking this opportunity to share a few reasons why she would be a tremendous asset to the Healdsburg Unified School District board.
Upon first meeting Rose, I was struck immediately by how approachable and passionate about education she was. As a mother of three young children, two of whom are enrolled in our public elementary school and one who will soon be entering kindergarten there, Rose is deeply committed and actively involved in our public school system, on a daily basis. Her unique perspective as a parent of elementary students offers insights, both relevant and valuable, to the school board.
Over the past few years, I have been had the good fortune to work with Rose on several school-related matters. In meetings when issues were contentious and tensions ran high, Rose stood out as a consensus builder who contributes with her intellect and an open mind. Her professional experience and skills, gained from work in communications and government relations, enable her to add value as our school board faces the challenges of serving a diverse body of students.
Our community is fortunate to have someone with Rose’s values, commitment and relevant experience who is not just willing, but eager, to contribute to our community through school board service. Please cast your vote for Rose McAllister.
Mary-Elizabeth Johnson
Healdsburg
Collaborative approach
EDITOR: I am writing this in support of Evelyn Mitchell for city council. She would be an excellent addition. She is hard working, intelligent, articulate and she continues to put much effort into the community. Her efforts have included being president of the Healdsburg Animal Shelter board at a crucial time when that organization restarted at their new location.
Evelyn has a collaborative approach to decision making, which is essential in today’s political climate. She understands that doing what is best for the citizens of Healdsburg is the measure of a good council member. I urge everyone to get out and vote; and when so doing, cast a vote for Evelyn Mitchell for Healdsburg City Council.
Tom Chambers
Healdsburg
Education 2040
EDITOR: It is a testament to the citizen interest in education that there are four highly qualified candidates vying for a membership on the school board in a campaign that is far more vigorous than the one for city council seats.
I share the interest in education, having sat of the governance council for the junior high and done some mentoring and classroom time. Yesterday I happened to meet Rose McAllister in the Downtown Bakery, and she gave me nearly an hour of her time to talk about why she thinks she will bring value to the board.
Obviously, I can’t give a full recount here, but I will share the points that stood out for me. She feels that there should be much more collaboration and integration within the community, including the recreation department and service clubs.
A particularly intriguing suggestion is getting students involved with the effort to envision what Healdsburg should look like in the year 2040.
That was typical of her general stand, which is that there needs to be a voice on the board to speak to impact of school policy on family life. There will be major issues coming up, such as returning civics studies to the curriculum, altering the start time for the high school, adjusting to the new professional career paths opening up in response to climate change, etc.
These essential questions, and many more reach beyond teaching into the home, and someone with children in the schools needs to add that perspective. Now I just have to pick one of the other fine educators to pair with Rose McAllister.
Jay Beckwith
Healdsburg
